10 Classic Songs You Didn't Know Were Ripped Off
1. Master of Puppets - Metallica
As far as thrash metal goes, Metallica's Master of Puppets stands as one of the almighty feats in music history. All in just 8 minutes, James Hetfield put together one of the biggest assaults on the senses in rock history, from the lyrics regarding drugs controlling you to the amazing dynamic shifts between precise downstrokes and beautiful downtempo sections. So to think that one of the greatest licks in the song came from glam rock is bound to raise a few heads, isn't it?
Coming out of Kirk Hammett's guitar solo, the massive upward run that takes us into the final verses is one of the most pristine licks off the entire record, courtesy of bassist Cliff Burton. Being the more eclectic music fan out of them all, Cliff's inspiration shows a little too well on this one, being a lift from David Bowie's Andy Warhol. As Hammett tells it years later, Burton was really getting into Bowie's work around that time and decided to frankenstein the riff to suit the ending of the song.
In that respect, Bowie's original art rock project takes on an entirely different life in this song, instead feeling like a stampede coming to annihilate you just before the final go around of the verses. It just goes to show you that even when they reach outside of their comfort zones, the sharpest musical minds know how to make a ripoff into solid gold.